A Christmas Gift
by Becky Sky
Summary: Jay is doing Christmas shopping when he meets someone he left behind a long time ago, and who just might be looking for a way back into his heart... oneshot please read and review!


A Christmas Gift

**A/n: This is basically just a romantic comedy where Jay and … well, read on to find out. Oh, and it's kinda Christmassy, since we're in that time of year. Hope ya'll like it. Please review! Love, Becky**

Jay watched as his little girl Miranda skipped ahead of him down the mall floor, trying her best to sing Joy to the World, Mom's a Toad with her squeaky little seven-year old voice. Ever since Jay and Lisa, Miranda's mother, had divorced, Miranda had hated her mother with a passion. It hadn't really been a divorce, either, just Lisa deciding to skip out on her "family" to be with someone else.

Jay grinned. He felt a lot more freedom now, though, as though the weight of knowing Lisa was going to leave him no matter what had been lifted off his shoulders.

He couldn't wait for Christmas! He began to sing "Jingle Bell Rock" softly. A young kid nearby covered their ears in a vain attempt to save them while they could. Miranda hurried back to save her father. "Daddy, I think you should shut up now," she said simply. He stared at her in shock.

"Miranda, don't speak to me that way," he said sharply, reprimanding her. But his heart melted as she gave him her puppy dog look, one very much like the one that had manipulated Jay into the biggest mistake of his life, marrying Lisa.

"Just don't do it again," he said kindly.

"Come on, Daddy let's go see Santa," Miranda cried, towing Jay towards the very lean, muscular man in the Santa suit.

As Miranda hopped up onto Santa's lap, she peered at him closely. "You're a fake!" she cried. "You're not fat!"

Jay felt his cheeks burn as he quickly grabbed his daughter and made their way through the crowd of holiday shoppers, all the while Miranda hollering, "What did you do to Santa? I'm going to sue! How do I know I'm going to get my presents when I'm not even talking to the real one? How many more of you are there! This is a conspiracy, I tell you, a conspiracy!"

Jay finally hauled her to one side as horrified customers glared at them, and told her to give Santa a break; the guy had finally gone on the diet he had suggested he take last year. Miranda crossed her arms in a pout. "Is he going to give me less presents, too? Is he going to quit his job? Is he going to become so famous he and Mrs. Claus break up because of the stress?"

Jay sighed. This was another of those times he often wondered what his little girl watched on television at the babysitters when he was at work.

"No, I don't think you have to worry about that," he said mildly. "Come on, Miry, we've got some shopping to finish."

Jay struggled to carry all of the bags he had in his arms, which he couldn't see over the top of, tottering here and there as his daughter tried her best to give him directions. Considering she was only seven, she did a pretty good job until she forgot which way was left and which way was right, only able to give out a pointless "Daddy, look out!" as Jay bumped into another shopper, tumbling to the ground in a heap of presents.

Remembering his manners, he quickly got onto his knees and tried to help, only to bonk heads with the other shopper. "Ouch!"

He quickly looked up to see if they were all right, only to look into the greenest pair of eyes that he had ever seen. "I'm so sorry," the woman said, blushing. "I should have been looking where I was going."

"That's all right," Jay said. He frowned. There was something familiar about her. He glanced at her hair, and was surprised to see that it was in a long tumult down her back. She noticed him staring and laughed. That musical laugh. Jay _knew_ he had heard it somewhere before. Meanwhile, Miranda was watching the encounter with a smile on her face. She liked the look of the lady. She seemed… nice. Open. Loyal. Not like her mother, who had deceived her, and Daddy.

She also loved her hair. A sudden thought came over her and she went over to the woman, taking a strand of the fiery hair into her hand. "Are you Rapunzel?" she asked softly.

The lady looked down at her in surprise, her eyes shining brightly with unshed tears. She kneeled down to clasp hands with the little girl, but suddenly had a vision. _Jay, hugging a toddler and showering her with gifts on her birthday._ She smiled softly to herself. _So this is Jay's little girl. _She was surprised he hadn't recognized her yet. Had it been that long?

"I might just be Rapunzel," she said, grinning.

"Do you have a prince?" The woman blushed, glancing at Jay. "I did once," she admitted. "But then he left."

That was when Jay remembered. It was Theresa, his old high school flame. Even now his heart beat faster, but he wanted to keep it in check, in case he ended up heartbroken.

"Theresa?" he gasped. Theresa smirked that same smirk he loved- oops- _used_ to love so much. "You finally figured it out, eh Jay?"

He was speechless. But Miranda wasn't. "You two know each other?" she asked excitedly. She stared at from one to the other, demanding answers. "Daddy, you knew Rapunzel from the fairy tales, and you _never told me_?"

Jay sighed. "It's a long story, Miranda. Now, how have you been?" he asked, addressing Theresa.

The redhead frowned. "Oh, just fine, if you call living off ten dollars an hour, six hours a day, seven days a week, fine."

Jay stared at her, confused. "You weren't able to get a good job?"

Theresa clenched her fists tightly, trying not to lose her temper. "I think we should go to your place, that is, unless your wife minds?"

"We divorced," Jay said coldly.

Miranda flinched. She could detect the cold, angry tones in the adults' voices. It was the same one her parents had used when Lisa had announced she was leaving, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Okay then, let's go," Theresa said, grabbing her bags and a few of Jay's as she stalked ahead of him towards the mall parking lot. As she neared the cars, she shouted over her shoulder to Jay that she'd follow his car to his house. He nodded shortly and hurried over to his own SUV, asking all the gods of Olympus how he had managed to tick off his old friend in only a matter of minutes within meeting her again.

At Jay's small two-bedroom apartment, Theresa expertly put all the groceries and gifts away, and then sat down at Jay's kitchen table.

"Would you like some coffee?" Jay asked politely. Theresa nodded. "Yes please."

Miranda was watching them from where she was cuddled on the couch watching TV. She shook her head. Adults were so silly some times, dancing around a point before finally addressing it, while kids usually got straight to the point. _And it's a wonder we're usually the ones ignored,_ she thought.

As Jay sat down at the table, they both sat quietly, sipping their steaming coffee. It was an awkward silence, as though neither one could quite decide what to do next. Finally Jay broke the silence. "So, what's your job?"

"I have two of them actually, one of them I'm sure you can sympathize with, and the other, I'm sure you'd just laugh at if it happened to anyone you didn't know. Second job, I'm a plumber, since it's the only job I could get hired for. Even then I had to make use of a bit of helpful persuasion." Jay knew she was talking about using her psychic powers to manipulate situations. "I don't like doing it, but it was my last resort. My first and most important job is to be a single mom."

Jay started. She had been married- to whom?

Theresa read his thoughts. "I didn't marry anyone, Jay," she said sadly. "I wanted to, though."

Now Jay was feeling a bit jealous of the lucky sap who had won Theresa's heart.

"What's your kid's name?" he asked tightly.

"Tyler," she answered. "He's sixteen, and visiting my dad over in England for a few days. I took the opportunity to shop and visit Atlanta and Archie, who live only on the other side of the city. They recommended the electronics store at the mall."

"So, are you dating anyone?" he asked casually, his heart beating rapidly, and his brain shouting _No! Please say no! No!_ over and over again.

She glanced at him sharply. "No, and I don't think I will be for awhile."

Jay felt all his hopes deflate. "Why?" he asked lamely, praying that she didn't se how upset he was.

"Because I came here to tell you something that I've been hiding to myself. I wouldn't tell you unless I was just too tired of doing what I've been doing all alone. Jay- my son is your son."

Jay felt as though she had smacked him in the face. He heard Miranda gasp from her place out on the couch. He quickly sent her to bed, tucking her in quickly and rushing back out to comprehend the news. He had a son, another child he had never known about.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"You left, pretty clearing stating through your actions that you didn't care anymore. But I did. That's why I let you go, because I loved you, and wanted you to be happy. I also had the foolish hope that you would come back to me, but when I heard you had married, that deflated. You hadn't even invited me to the wedding! So I raised Tyler alone."

"Why didn't you give him up for adoption?"

"Because he has the same gift I have, Jay, and if I gave him up, he'd never learn how to use them to protect himself, or if he did, he might not learn how to use them correctly. And I don't believe in abortion, either. I couldn't kill off the child of the only man I've ever loved! That would be murder!" she sat back, out of breath. "Now you know my story. I got the best job I could with the little schooling I had, and that's how it's been ever since. I'm trying to save up money to go to school to become a psychologist. I got a really low-paying job as a plumber, which is usually paid good money, because I didn't have enough schooling."

Jay's head was spinning. "Well, what do you want me to do?" he asked, confused as to why she told him this.

"Maybe a little financial support for your son would help? I hate to ask you to take away this money from Miranda-"

"Miranda has enough money in her account for a good education, and I have a good job," Jay assured her.

'I'm just so desperate," Theresa said. "I'm thinking of letting my dad take care of him until I can get back on my feet. I just can't take it anymore." She buried her head in her hands.

Jay wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, resting his head on her hair. "I'm so sorry, Theresa, I'm so sorry," he whispered, tears falling down his cheeks to trickle slowly through her hair. He suddenly noticed how red it was, and he felt old feeling rush from his heart, trying to take over his soul. He wasn't going to fight them anymore.

"Theresa, I know this sounds crazy, but – I still love you, and hope that you can forgive me for being the self-absorbed man that I was then, and give me another chance." He gazed down at her pleadingly as she raised her head, looking thoughtful. "I love you too, Jay." He leaned down to kiss her, but she raised a finger to his lips. "But I think we should ask Miranda how she feels about it. I know Tyler will be thrilled to have a dad. Last Valentine's Day he tried to match me up with any suitable bachelor he could find." She chuckled. "He had a hard time, I tell you."

Jay nodded. "We'll ask her in the morning," he said.

"No need to do that, Daddy," said a voice from behind them, startling the two adults into jumping a foot off their chairs. "I think it's just fine." Then she marched off to bed, her baby blanket and teddy bear trailing on the floor behind her.

Jay and Theresa grinned at each other, and then leapt into each other's arms. They were just about to kiss when they heard a little giggle. They tried not to sigh as they noticed a little face poking around the doorframe. "Miranda!" they exclaimed.

She smiled sheepishly. "I just wanted to see if you do it like the people on TV," she declared.

"That's it," Jay announced as she darted away to her bedroom. "I'm getting you a new babysitter!"

Then the two adults smiled in contentment and got the kiss they hadn't yet been able to start.

Miranda poked her head around the doorframe, checking the cool, glow-in-the-dark-watch she had on. She made a face. Yuck. They were kissing even longer than the people on TV. She decided to surprise them, and jumped up, turning on the kitchen light. Only nobody was there. She turned to see a smiling Theresa asleep on the couch, and then heard her daddy's light snores from his bedroom. She sighed. Maybe she did watch too much TV.

That Christmas was a jolly one indeed. The seven heroes and their families all gathered at Archie and Atlanta's huge two-storey house. Miranda played with the younger children while the adults all laughed and talked. Later on, there was dancing, and Jay and Theresa walked out onto the balcony to gaze at the stars. Jay fingered the box he had in his pocket nervously, then finally got his act together. Kneeling in the freshly-fallen snow, not caring if he got all wet, he opened the box to show Theresa the ring. "Theresa, will you marry me?" Theresa shrieked in joy and nodded yes, too breathless to speak. Jay grabbed her hand and rushed to tell the others of their decision. There was much celebrating, and Miranda bragged to her friends that she was going to have Rapunzel for a mother. The children all glared at her jealously, all wanting to have a fairy tale princess for a mom.

But their jealousy was forgotten when the gifts were brought out to be opened. Miranda noticed that Theresa wasn't opening her gifts, and asked her why. "Because I already have you, your dad, my friends and Tyler for my Christmas gifts. And that's all I could ever truly want." She smiled, and gave Miranda a big hug, which the little girl willingly returned.

Then the group all got together to sing Christmas carols, and this time Miranda didn't tell Jay to shut up.

The End

**A/n: Well, how did ya like that? Please review! **


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